Marinated Chicken BBQ

·         1 C soy sauce

·         1 C vegetable oil

·         2 C Sprite ®

·         2 Tbsp garlic powder

You can marinate 3-4 large chicken breasts in this mixture overnight.  Make sure to keep covered in the fridge.  Remove immediately prior to placing on grill. Cook to desired state.

This recipe comes from my husband's family. It is delicious! I don't have a grill, though, so I bake the chicken in the oven at 350° F until it's done (about an hour).

Creamy White Chili

recipe obtained from the late Anne Creager, a sweet lady and wonderful role model 

·         1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed

·         1 medium onion, chopped

·         1 ½ tsp garlic powder**

·         1 Tbsp vegetable oil

·         2 cans great northern beans (white)*

·         1 can chicken broth***

·         2 cans green chilies, chopped

·         1-2 green bell peppers (opt.)     

·         1 tsp salt             

·         1 tsp ground cumin**

·         1 tsp dried oregano**

·         ½ tsp black pepper

·         ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

·         1 cup sour cream

In a large saucepan, sauté chicken, onion, bell peppers, and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink.  Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 min.  Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and cream together.  Serve immediately.  Yields 7 servings.

*I like to soak and cook 2 C dried beans to help with cost.

**I double the amount of garlic, cumin, oregano

***I sometimes will just use a GF chicken bouillon cube with 2 C water

I always end up adding way more salt. We like to serve this over brown rice. The original recipe didn’t call for the green bell peppers. When I first made this chili, I thought bell peppers and chilies were the same thing. They're not. We liked them so much them, though, that we kept them in our recipe. 

Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour

yields  approx. 8 ⅓ C flour

·         2 ⅔ C white rice flour

·         2 ⅔ C brown rice flour

·         1 ¼ C potato starch

·         1 ¼ C tapioca starch

·         ½  C corn starch

·         4 tsp xanthan gum

      I say multi-purpose flour because I don't like to use it for everything that calls for flour. So far it's been good for cakes, cookies, banana bread (which is basically cake), brownies, and other desserts like that. It also worked well when I used it to batter meat. It did NOT work for my pancake recipe and I don't use it to make sandwich bread. Although, I did modify Kathy's Gluten-Free White Bread recipe to get this flour mixture... Almond flour is my favorite, however, this was my attempt to come up with the cheapest GF flour recipe possible. To help with cost, I also use a home grain grinder to make my own rice flours. 

*GF Banana Bread

·         ⅔ cup white rice flour

·         ⅔ cup brown rice flour

·         5 Tbsp (¼ cup + 1 Tbsp) potato starch

·         5 Tbsp (¼ cup + 1 Tbsp) tapioca flour

·         2 Tbsp cornstarch

·         1 tsp xanthan gum

·         1 ½ tsp GF baking powder

·         ½ tsp baking soda

·         ¼ tsp salt

·         ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

·         ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg

·         2 eggs, beaten

·         1 ½ cups mashed ripe banana (5 medium)

·         1 cup sugar

·         ½ cup cooking oil or melted butter

·         ¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

·         1 recipe Streusel-Nut Topping (optional)

1.      Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and "GF oat flour" bottom and ½ inch up the sides of one 9x5x3-inch or two 7½x3½x2-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a large bowl combine white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

2.      In a medium bowl combine eggs, banana, sugar, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in walnuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). If desired, sprinkle Streusel-Nut Topping over batter in pan(s).

3.      Bake for 55 to 60 minutes for 9x5x3-inch pan or 40 to 45 minutes for 7½x3½x2-inch pans or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean (if necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning). Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on rack. Wrap; store overnight before slicing.

Streusel-Nut Topping: In a small bowl combine ¼ cup packed brown sugar and 3 tablespoons rice flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in 2 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in ⅓ cup chopped walnuts.

*Adapted from “Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book: Celebrating the Promise Limited 14^th Edition”, 2007, Banana Bread, Pg. 130

Kathy’s Gluten-Free White Bread

·         1 Cup White Rice Flour

·         1 Cup Brown Rice Flour

·         ½ cup Potato Starch

·         ½ cup Tapioca Flour

·         ⅓ cup Cornstarch

·         1 Tbsp Xanthan Gum

·         3 Tbsp Brown Sugar

·         1 ½ tsp Salt

·         1 pkg of Active Dry Yeast (Slightly less than 1 Tbsp)

·         1 ¾ Cup Milk

·         4 Tbsp Butter

·         3 eggs slightly beaten

·         1 tsp GF oat flour (used to flour pan)

Combine dry ingredients (including yeast)

Warm 1 ¾ Cup Milk and 4 Tbsp Butter to 125° F

Mix milk and butter with dry ingredients and add 3 eggs

Beat with mixer for about 3 or 4 min.

Spray large bread pan with oil and sprinkle with GF oat flour

Pour mixture into the large bread pan

Let rise for 40 min.

Bake for 45-50 min. at 350° F (cover with foil if getting too dark)

So, my mom came up with this recipe. (Thanks Mom!) The kids love it 'cause it tastes closer to white "Wonder" bread than my GF bread recipe. 

Seven-Layer Pasta Salad

 

My mom made this for me once and I love it!  Now I make it all the time.  This is a Betty Crocker recipe. My changes are asterisked at the bottom of the recipe. 

Seven-Layer Holiday Pasta Salad (Betty Crocker)

Prep: 30 min. Cook 15 min. Chill: 8 hrs

·         *2 C uncooked farfalle (bow-tie) pasta (4 ounces)

·         2 C broccoli flowerets

·         *2 medium tomatoes, chopped (1 ½ C)

·         1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped (1 C)

·         *1/3 C diced red onion

·         1 C mayonnaise or salad dressing

·         ½ C plain yoghurt

·         2 Tbsp sugar

·         ½ tsp curry powder

·         1 ½ C shredded Cheddar chess (6 ounces)

·         *1 Tbsp Betty Crocker Bac~Os

o   Bacon flavor bits or chips

·         *2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

1.      Cook and drain pasta as directed on package. Place broccoli in boiling water. Cover and cook 1  minute; drain. Immediately rinse with cold water; drain.

2.      While pasta is cooking, layer tomatoes, broccoli, bell pepper and onion in 2-quart glass serving bowl.

3.      Mix mayonnaise, yoghurt, sugar and curry powder in medium bowl. Stir in pasta. Layer pasta evenly over onion in serving bowl.

4.      Sprinkle with cheese. Top with bacon bits and parsley. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours before serving but no longer that 24 hours. 8 servings.

*I use any GF pasta I have on hand (shell, rotini, elbow, etc.)

*I use only one tomato

*Sometimes, I use ¼ C green onions instead of the red onion

*I cook my own bacon and chop it into bits 

*I sprinkle dried parsley on top

Gluten Free Bread

 

Gluten Free Bread

·         1 C white rice flour

·         2/3 C brown rice flour

·         1 C GF oat flour

·         2/3 C potato starch

·         2 Tbsp brown sugar

·         1 ¼ tsp salt (or ¾ tsp salt w/salted butter)

·         2 Tbsp corn starch

·         1 tsp xanthan gum

·         1 package active dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp)

o   Heat liquids to 110°-115° F if putting yeast straight into liquid; 120°-130° F if mixing yeast with dry ingredients first; or 80° F for bread machine

·         1 ¾ C milk

·         4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

·         2 eggs slightly beaten

Mix dry ingredients together in heavy duty mixer (including yeast). Heat milk to 125° F. Pour milk and butter into dry ingredients and slightly mix. Add eggs. Beat on high for 3 min. Grease and oat flour 2 bread pans (4.5 x 8.5in 1.5qt). Pour half of mixture into one bread pan. Pour the other half into another bread pan. Let rise for 40-50 min. Bake at 375° F for 30 min. until brown and hollow sounding (cover with foil if crust is becoming too dark). Turn baked bread onto rack and cool completely. Slice, wrap, and store in freezer. Best eaten slightly warmed or toasted.

~Curtis & Kelsey Allred 

Finally!  After many experiments, we came up with a delicious, cheap, simple, gluten-free bread!  My husband and I eat it so fast that we just store it in the fridge. To get oat flour, we buy GF oats and blend them in a blender. To get the rice flour, we buy rice and grind it in a grain grinder. If you have any other tips on saving money, please let us know! :D